Gas tax, tolls, MBTA fares, registry fees would also rise in plan

Gov. Deval Patrick's plan to boost the state income tax while lowering sales taxes -- to support major new spending on transportation and education – is not the only proposal he is making to increase revenue.

Patrick used his annual state of the state address to propose hiking the state income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, while doubling the personal exemption for all taxpayers and eliminating dozens of itemized deductions.

At the same time, he called for reducing the state sales tax from the current 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent.

The governor's plan would also:

Tie the Massachusetts gasoline tax to inflation, which would add a half-penny to the state’s current 21 cents-per-gallon tax, beginning in 2014 and would trigger automatic increases in the future.

Forty years ago, one of the greatest boxing matches in history took place in an unlikely setting: the capital of the Philippines. Muhammad Ali's epic win over great rival Joe Frazier in 1975 became known as the "Thrilla in Manila."